Monday, December 29, 2008

Jason at 8 months old - His hair was so blonde that it was hard to see that he had hair.

Jason and cousin, Shannon, were in a wedding together. Don't they both look so excited? NOT!

Jason, the big brother, was kneeling beside his dad, who was holding Ryan. Debbie was helping cousin, Bradley walk.

Jason in 1st grade.

Jason in 2nd grade.

Jason and Andrew were in a wedding, so we had their picture taken in their suits.

Family photo

Family on vacation

Jason is taking cousin, Amber Plemmons, for a spin on his new motorcycle. Uncle Dan was a nervous wreck to have his little girl on a motorcycle. Cute!

Jason in his dating years.

Jason is taking brother, Andrew for a ride across the Mackinac Bridge. They sure look happy!

Jason and Steve (dad) the day of Jason's first solo flight.

Jason's graduation from ComAir - before becoming a flight instuctor

Jason as a flight instructor for Delta ComAir Airlines.

Jason and Karalynne (wife) at their home in Sanford, Florida.

Check out that hair and the big glasses. Talk about a 'dennis the menace' hairdo, he's got one here.

Jason is so excited to be helping dad take his new motorcycle off the trailer (January 2000).

After Steve died, Jason took Steve's motorcycle down to Grandmy & Grandpy Plemmons house for one last ride before selling it and took Grandpy Plemmons for a spin. Grandpy was in his glory. (July 2001)

Jason holding his daughter, Katie.

Jason and Karalynne's wedding picture. They were married on April 11, 2003.

Jason, Karalynne and Kaitlynne at the GBS play in December 2008.

Jason and Karalynne

Here it is, December 30, 2008 and my mind reflects back to December 30, 1978, the day of the birth of my first child. Boy, it seems a bit impossible that Jason is 30 years old already. My heart was bursting with pride to have the first grandchild on both sides of the family. He weighed in a 8 lb. 13 1/2 oz. and was so healthy. We were so blessed to have a son and to think that he made it in time for a tax deduction. he he

Jason taught Steve and I patience, as he was extremely stubborn as a baby. He knew what he wanted and he didn't care what it took to get it, he was going to do whatever it took to get his way, whether it was holding his breath until he passed out or screaming uncontrollably. It took a few years to conquer this but with the help of the Lord, we were able to break this cycle of life.

Throughout the years, Jason was the one who was always an early-riser and was not afraid to pursue his goals. He looked more like Steve (dad) than his siblings and had a lot of the same traits. His mannerisms and the way he walked were so similar and he loved motorcycles like his dad. Steve and Jason used to take motorcycle trips together on their new Honda Goldwings and one time they left the house, telling me their were just going to go down and take a spin on the turnpike. They liked to go east or west an exit, get off the turnpike and come back home. A favorite past-time of theirs. On this particular day, they were gone a long time. When they called me they said, "You will never guess where we are at." I said, "OK, where are you?" They replied, "In the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago." That was Jason and Steve... Always trying something together.

Speaking of being adventurous, Jason decided that he was tired of landscaping and wanted to go into flying commercially, so he moved to Sanford, Florida in December of 2000 and enrolled at Delta ComAir Academy to start the process of getting his license. This was a big change for him, living with another student and having to cook his own meals and live so far away from home, but he was successful and now can fly commercially.

In April of 2003, Jason married Karalynne Shiery. Kara has been very good to / for Jason and is such a blessing to our family. To their union was born Katie in February of 2005. She is a beautiful little girl. She loves to come to mamaw's house and 'play toys'.

It's hard to believe you are turning 22 today, Monday, December 29. You have been a real inspiration to me. There were a few years when I would have thought you would never recover from your grief and bitterness. After your dad died, it seemed that you crawled up into your shell and we were strangers - living in the same house. What a change has taken place in your life after you became a Christian. There is no greater joy for a mother than that her children are walking with the Lord. I am so proud of you. I decided to post a 'few' pictures. Usually, you are on the other side of the camera and we do not get many pictures of you personally. Here are a few that I thought the readers may find interesting. Enjoy. I'd love to hear comments from you. I love you!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Ryan and I after he finished preaching at the annual Christmas Sunday service at GBS.

Katie posing for the camera, which is certainly not her favorite thing to do. She dislikes cameras!

Jason and Kara

Jason, Kara and Katie

Ryan posing for a picture - he doesn't care to have his picture taken either. Just a little get-even for all of the pictures he takes of us...

Ryan was the statue in the Christmas program for God's Bible School and posed for a photo. It was very interesting because several people thought he was a real statue until he moved.

He was scary looking up close~!

JaLayna in her great-grandma Watters dress.

Close up of JaLayna

Jaxon, JeNessa and Mamaw having a few bonding moments.

I rearranged my living room and decided to put pictures on here for my family.

More living room pictures ~ The grandfather clock fits so perfectly in this corner.

Moved my piano into the corner, creating a lot more room in the living room. Notice the snowmen under the piano.

If you know me, you know that I love Christmas. It does not matter to me if I get gifts or not, I just love Christmas. I collect snowmen...lots and lots of snowmen...in my office, in my sun room, in my living room, I just love snowmen. I have spent so much time decorating and redecorating this year. Moving things around in my new office, trying to figure out where things look the best and now, here it is, three days past Christmas and I am still on an adrenaline high. I never look forward to taking all of my decorations down. I love it when the children are all together and having a good time. There is nothing that makes me happier than to see that my family is together. I never want to get to the point though that I overlook the real meaning of Christmas and need to constantly remind myself to not get carried away in the hustle and bustle of the busy crowds in the mall. You may think I am crazy but that is one of the highlights of my year when I go to the mall the day before Christmas and just walk around and watch the frantic people. Actually, I went to the mall twice on the 24th and just loved watching the people scurrying here and there. Steve and I always used to do this. Rarely did I buy anything of significance a day or two before Christmas but that is generally when Steve started his shopping. He loved the thrill of trying to find just the right gift at the last minute. I could go to the mall and just sit for a long time and be totally entertained by just watching the weary shoppers.

Christmas time also brings families together and allows them to reflect on the past year. I love to hear the kids laughing and telling stories of things that happened in their past. Like, "Remember when we used to come down here in the basement and light the fireplace and lay down here and roast and Princess (beagle) would pant like crazy but was too dumb to move away from the fire?" Those memories are priceless. Last year was the first time we were able to sit down and watch some of our old home videos, from when the kids were all small. It was hard to hear Steve's voice and reflect on the happiness of the days gone by, but in a strange sort of way, it brought healing. This year, with Ryan's help, I have been getting these old VHS's transferred to DVD, so we can preserve them without losing the tape or the means to play them, since DVD's are 'the in thing' right now. These are priceless to the boys (and to me). Precious memories.

I know it has been awhile since I have posted so I decided to send out some pictures. I am not professional in my photography skills, like Ryan is, but at least you can see some of the pictures of the past few weeks.

On the way home from Thanksgiving at my parents, we stopped in Findlay, Ohio and met Andrew and Jennifer and the kids. We had my mother-in-laws baby dress that was over 80 years old (It was used for Bonnie's older sister). We met in Wendy's and put the dress on her there and took LOTS of pictures. They turned out so cute. Jaxon and JeNa loved meeting Uncle Ryan and Mamaw in Wendy's. We had a blast. Then on Christmas, Andy & Jenn came to Michigan so we were able to get the picture of JaLayna and her great-grandma Watters together. This was a special picture and one to be treasured.

This weekend has been momentous for us as we have really enjoyed being together and having our family photos taken professionally. The photographer met us at a designated location and spent 1 1/2 hours with us. He was great and we had a very fun time having the pictures taken. I will give you the link when the pictures are up on his site for us to view.

Watch for a post on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Ryan's birthday is Monday and Jason's birthday is Tuesday. I will post pictures of the boys on these days.

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About Me

I am mother to three sons, Jason, Andrew & Ryan, mother-in-law to Karalynne (Shiery) & Jennifer (Craker) and grandmother to Kaitlynne, who is three 1/2 and JeNessa who is 5, Jaxon who is 3 and JaLayna who was born on September 19. 2008. I have been widowed for 7 years. I have been the local chapter director of Women of Worth for 13 years and I am now on the National Committee as secretary. I am a full-time Christian School secretary and enjoy puzzles, decorating, music, and being with family.